Mastercard executive faces judge's questions on routing in Australian trial
By Saloni Sinha ( May 6, 2026, 08:06 GMT | Insight) -- An Australian judge pressed a Mastercard executive on the need for minimum transaction volume clauses in agreements with retailers, as the competition regulator argued that such commitments were designed to limit merchants’ ability to route debit transactions via the rival Eftpos network. As the antitrust trial in the Federal Court progressed on Wednesday, lawyer James Arnott, acting for the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, pointed Mastercard’s Surin Fernando to a draft agreement with Australian retail operator The Just Group that included minimum transaction volume commitments.An Australian judge pressed a Mastercard executive on the need for minimum transaction volume clauses in agreements with retailers, as the competition regulator argued that such commitments were designed to limit merchants’ ability to route debit transactions via the rival Eftpos network....
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